Hannah Hunt

Just a disclaimer. I haven't done interpretation of lyrics since high school. I left that behind a long time ago along with my interest in music in general. Just recently started to listen to music again and came across this band's work. I had long ago thought that there was not much meaning in modern music, and never really even tried to seek meaning within it. I'm now realizing that meaning is what you make of it, whether the artist intended it or not. And the very act of finding meaning in art is an end in itself and makes our lives so much richer. I wanted to thank all of those who contribute here for opening my eyes to this.

This is such a beautiful song. Made even more beautiful with contemplation of its lyrical meaning. Great analysis by psychoticl which really opened up this song for me.

Ultimately this is about a relationship that failed to change and adapt in order to grow stronger. Instead, one person attempts to hold onto the past while the other ultimately realizes that she must move on. The journey begins in Providence (what better place to begin a relationship, all filled with religious overtones of hope and blessing), transitions to Phoenix (another place suggesting the potential for transformation of a relationship into something better through exposure to hardship/"fire"), but comes to an untimely end in Santa Barbara (named for the patron saint of those constantly exposed to combustibles!)

Couple of thoughts. A gardener told me some plants move, but I could not believe it--what a beautiful opening line. I agree with others that this is a reference to human relationships. The fact is that ALL plants move, some faster than others. The protagonist simply chose to disbelieve a self-evident fact of nature and of relationships, that change is inevitable. He begins to see problems in their relationship as the journey continues, but doesn't directly acknowledge them. The references to moving plants are foreboding and dark--"creeping" (vines have potential to destroy/choke off what they attach to) and "weeping" (willows grow downward, not up)--not full of life or energy or suggesting growth in any positive sense.

Religion, represented by a man of faith, often claims that god ("hidden eyes") knows our innermost thoughts. The protagonist laughs this off, stating that only Hannah knows his true feelings; he's right, since he himself doesn't understand his own heart. Just as he ignored facts of nature, he also ignores his own innermost feelings as we all often do. The protagonist failed to acknowledge to himself or anyone else his own misgivings about the relationship, which the partner had already picked up on.

The New York Times reference is particularly compelling for me. The protagonist has traveled from one coast to the other but holds onto a tangible vestige of that former life, the newspaper, something he can't even fathom destroying (would rather go out and buy kindling). This is certainly a common theme for travelers in general who try to bring reminders of their past city/country with them--newspapers transport us back to our former place. Similarly, he's holding onto the relationship (as others have suggested, the times they had in New York) despite the fact that things have changed. He has failed to adapt to change. The partner, is in a very different place, and though likely missing how it once was, prepared to put the paper/relationship into the flame.

This couple has attempted to resurrect their relationship by trying to make a move from the east to the west coast, a distinctively American journey that has always symbolized hope and new beginnings. Upon getting to their destination, Hannah realizes that this was all in vain. Notably, despite finally arriving in Santa Barbara (a land that promised warmth), the weather is ironically cold enough to require a fire--the relationship hasn't changed at all in spite of the long journey. Despite the change in scenery, Hannah still misses those "freezing beaches"--the weather was cold, but their relationship was alive and warm once--now it is lifeless and interminable. This is the major pivot in the dynamics of the relationship--from a self-sustaining one to one that requires external source of sustenance. You an imagine a scene of the couple on a cold East Coast beach where his presence alone would have been enough to keep her comfortable--they were a couple that could "weather" anything just with their own company. The changes now are stark, he actually leaves her in a cold house to buy kindling to make them warm. The "fire" of the relationship is clearly gone. This realization which she comes to before him, leads her to literally and figuratively end the relationship.

The juxtaposition of time and money has been commented upon. I find this somewhat difficult to interpret. Just a few VERY random thoughts:

1. Time has accumulated, but money/love has dwindled
2. Though we live on the U.S. DOLLAR you and me we have our own CENTS. The word dollar is often followed by the word cents. The word "sense" is creatively substituted as money converts to time.
3. They moved from New York, the capital of American financial life where the pace of life is fast. Now time ticks slowly as their relationship winds down.